War Crimes Staff Ride Reflection

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War Crimes Staff Ride Reflection

The War Crimes Staff Ride was one of the most rewarding opportunities I have experienced. It taught me a lot about international law and legal systems, international culture, discipline and leadership.

Our first part of the trip consisted of going to the ICMP HQ where we learned about the organization. Their mission is to assist governments to address the issue of missing persons. I was very shocked that the organization is not funded by the government due to political disagreements. Unfortunately, there are still 40,000 missing persons unaccounted for. In my mind I could not believe that the government would not support an organization that tries to bring justice to the families especially since the headquarters is in Sarajevo, Bosnia. The ICMP only exists as long as they see it needed and funding continues.

After getting off the plane in Bosnia, we found out that our bags were delayed so Braetana and I observed the conservative style that most women shared and bought presentable clothes and shoes for the courtroom the next morning. Before going through security, the security guard was yelling at our translator about mine and Braetana’s sandals. Luckily we both had heels in our purses so we put them on before going in; interestingly, the guard continued to complain about our toes. It was only day 2 and I already felt our cultures clash. This short encounter helped me realize how different the Bosnian/Serb culture is and that I should do better research before going to a foreign country.

The War Crimes Trial in Tuzla interviewed Predag Perak, of Serbian descent but in Bosnian control, via web cam in Sydney, Australia. It was interesting that the witness did not have to be physically present in order to present his case and answer questions.While watching the 7-8 witnesses from a small television outside the courtroom, our translator, Mrs. Emilija, translated the entire hearing for us. It was surprising to me that this court case had 7-8 defendants, with his/her own attorney, speaking after one another against the prosecutor. It was hard to stay focused and follow the case due to the many defendants, and by the 4-5 defendants the rest had nothing to say against the prosecutor. The judges convict majority opinion because there is no jury. After this case, we met with Mrs. Zorica, a war crimes prosecutor, whom only spoke Bosnian/Serb/Croat; therefore, we needed Mrs. Emilija’s help again due to the language barrier. I learned a few tips such as: maintaining eye contact and speaking directly to the leader, giving your undivided attention, asking many questions and taking notes. These simple tips are a necessity when meeting with leaders of various organizations, especially in the Army. It shows respect, discipline, and helps with communication.

Next, we visited the Podrinje Identification Project and met with Ms. Dragana, the senior forensic anthropologist. A DNA match report is issued only when there is a 99.5% success of matching the missing person. As of now, 76% of missing persons have been accounted for. Wewere able to look at a book that had pictures of all the items found on missing persons to help with matching.Identification Coordination Division (ICD) and met with Mrs. Pakiza to go through the various stations at the ICD in order to find matches for missing persons. The employees go to the field and get the following: 1) blood samples, 2) records basic info, and 3) records info about disappearance. An approval is needed from the family before information is spread to the government. It was refreshing to see how much work the ICD and MPI put into finding matches for families.

Another rewarding meeting was when our group had the privilege to meet with Ćamil Duraković, the Mayor of Srebrenica. Listening to his political and international views was quite interesting because he is the only Bosniac mayor in a city of Serbs. Mayor Duraković has a dual citizenship in the U.S. and Bosnia and attended Boston University. He was a victim of the genocide and mayor Duraković explained to us that the younger generations glorify it while the older generations know and accept that it is wrong. He stated that their biggest obstacle is the constitution of the state. They need a functional state, decentralized power to local communities, education, health care, and welfare. He talked a lot about the difficulties he has as being Mayor in a city that is still facing hardships after the genocide.

Visiting mass grave sites, an old military barracks, the hospital museum, and the towns in Croatia were memorable moments. At first I was in disbelief that the mass gravesite could be so huge, but when we walked up to the memorial and witnessed rows of tombstones it could not get more real than that. The old military barracks had almost every old weapon, vehicle, and plane that was used back then so it was interesting to compare our resources that we have now to a country’s resources centuries ago. Our Croatian travel guides were easy to communicate with and generous enough to invite us to their home and show us the city. Hearing their stories about the genocide and how they were affected by it was very touching seeing that people usually don’t think someone could go through such hardships.

It was a little easier to communicate people in Germany especially because its more Americanized in Munich and Nuremburg. One of the most heartfelt experiences was visiting the Dachau concentration camp. Germany went from a democracy to a dictatorship in a few months by keeping promises like decreasing unemployment and building a larger army. 206,000 men and 8,000 women were placed at this camp and Hitler looked for indicators to place many enemies in the camps as well. I was disgusted to hear that the 40,000-42,000 people that died at Dachau is considered a low death rate. The worse of it all was hearing the stories. seeing the barracks, pictures, and ID tags that distinguished each person by: religion, sex, race, etc was just as horrible. The barracks normally housed 208 men, yet they quickly shoved 2,008 men inside and this let to diseases that killed about 300 men per day. Some men even committed suicide by touching the electric wire because they could not handle it anymore. It was sickening to think that human beings would justify and agree with this treatment. Even after 1945, when the camp was turned over to Americans, approximately 30 war crime criminals were convicted out of 23,000. I was constantly angry with the thought that mostly none of the war criminals faced consequences for their unlawful, immoral, and dishonorable actions. I just could not understand why some people would think that this is acceptable.

One of the more interesting parts of the trip was going to the ICTY and witnessing the Ratko Mladic, brigade commander of the Bosnian/Serbian Army, trial. I was shocked that he was dressed well in a suit, taking notes during the trial, making faces/gestures to the public, and is housed in a Dutch prison near the beach. I was literally feet away from a mass murderer. This man committed genocide and it seemed like he had not a care in the world due to the lenient rules. This courtroom in the Netherlands had the defendants on the left, prosecutors on the right, witness centered, in facing the judges, and then there was a glass window dividing the several translators from the courtroom. The judges are allowed to interject and intervene while questioning the witness. It was easier to focus and follow this hearing because we had audio equipment that translated everything into English. I was a little upset that the ICTY and ICTR were more concerned with finding out information for historical evidence than providing the family with justice and closure.

The ICTR has a limited jurisdiction that is geographically limited to Rwanda territory; therefore, most criminals serve time in Africa. The crimes are limited to: genocide (article 2), war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Rwanda did not have the means to make sure criminals would get fair trials because of their judiciary systems. A criminal can also be refused entry into another country if they have committed an international crime. The ICTR and ICTY are non permanent tribunals. They have constant pressure on them to maintain fundraising in order to keep criminal in prison so that they can finish their sentences. I was disturbed by the fact that the amount of time a defendant is in trial counts toward their sentence. The tribunals are focusing more on the historical records than giving the families justice.

International law and legal systems are very different and I realized they cannot be compared because there are too many areas of uncertainty and what ifs. It was difficult for me to understand and agree with some ways things are done at the tribunals because of their focus on historical documents. It was clear to me that a criminal is innocent until proven guilty, which is the exact opposite here in the U.S. All in all, the War Crimes Staff Ride AIAD was a very rewarding experience and I am thankful that I had the opportunity to learn about international law and legal systems, various cultures, and lifestyles.